Science

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Imaging Electron Pairing in a Simple Magnetic Superconductor: Findings and resulting theory could reveal mechanism behind zero-energy-loss current-carrying capability

In the search for understanding how some magnetic materials can be transformed to carry electric current with no energy loss, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cornell University, and collaborators have made an important advance: Using an experimental technique they developed to measure the energy required for electrons to pair up and how that energy varies with direction, they've identified the factors needed for magnetically mediated superconductivity-as well as those that aren't.

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The height above the plane of this diagram represents the energy required to break a superconducting pair of electrons into separate heavy fermions traveling in different directions (as determined from the quasiparticle scattering patterns). The maximum height is at the locations predicted if the "glue" holding the electron pairs together is magnetism.

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Novel Molecular Method to Diagnose Main Causes of Digestive Infections

A novel method based on nanobiotechnology was designed by biochemistry researchers from University of Tehran to rapidly and simply diagnose microorganisms, specially the main causes of digestive infections.

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Link between quantum physics and game theory found

While research tends to become very specialized and entire communities of scientists can work on specific topics with only a little overlap between them, physicist Dr Nicolas Brunner and mathematician Professor Noah Linden worked together to uncover a deep and unexpected connection between their two fields of expertise: game theory and quantum physics.

Dr Brunner said: "Once in a while, connections are established between topics which seem, on the face of it, to have nothing in common. Such new links have potential to trigger significant progress and open entirely new avenues for research."

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Disks Don't Need Planets to Make Patterns

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Debris disks around stars naturally form complex structures without the presence of a planet. This image shows the dust density and the growth of structure in a simulated disk, which extends about 100 times farther from its star than Earth's orbit around the sun. At left, the disk is seen from 24-degree angle; at right, it's face-on. Lighter colors show greater dust concentrations.

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NGC 2392: A Beautiful End to a Star's Life

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NGC 2392 is a planetary nebula, a phase that results when a star like the sun becomes a red giant and sheds its outer layers.

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ESO’s Very Large Telescope probes growth of galaxies

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Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have spotted a distant galaxy hungrily snacking on nearby gas. Gas is seen to fall inwards towards the galaxy, creating a flow that both fuels star formation and drives the galaxy’s rotation. This is the best direct observational evidence so far supporting the theory that galaxies pull in and devour nearby material in order to grow and form stars.

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Antifreeze, cheap materials may lead to low-cost solar energy

A process combining some comparatively cheap materials and the same antifreeze that keeps an automobile radiator from freezing in cold weather may be the key to making solar cells that cost less and avoid toxic compounds, while further expanding the use of solar energy.

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Nanoparticles, made to order — inside and out: New research enables high-speed customization of novel nanoparticles for drug delivery and other uses

A new coating technology developed at MIT, combined with a novel nanoparticle-manufacturing technology developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, may offer scientists a way to quickly mass-produce tailored nanoparticles that are specially coated for specific applications, including medicines and electronics.

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Researchers at MIT and the University of North Carolina created these coated nanoparticles in many shapes and sizes.

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Stuttgart researchers coordinate major EU project to clean up soil and ground water: Pollution control with nanoparticles

In the remediation of pollutions in the soil and groundwater, minute nanoparticles are being increasingly used that are to convert resp. break down pollutants on site. The process, often somewhat mistakenly described as "nano-remediation", can also be used with contaminations that have been hard to fight up to now, for example through heavy metals or the notorious, carcinogenic softener PCB. Yet how do the various nanoparticles behave in the earth, are they in turn harmless for humans and the environment and how can they be produced at a favourable price? These questions were investigated by scientists from the Research Facility for Subsurface Remediation (VEGAS) of the University of Stuttgart together with 27 partners from 13 countries in the framework of EU project "NanoRem", planned to last four years. For this purpose the European Union is providing around 10.5 million Euros from the 7th research framework programme.

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Carbo-Iron: combination of nano-iron and active carbon particles – a development by the project partner UFZ – are being tested at VEGAS on a large scale.

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Researchers build an all-optical transistor: An optical switch that can be turned on by a single photon could point toward new designs for both classical and quantum computers

Optical computing — using light rather than electricity to perform calculations — could pay dividends for both conventional computers and quantum computers, largely hypothetical devices that could perform some types of computations exponentially faster than classical computers.

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